Butler County Engineer's
Office employees worked a total of 144,758 hours with an average
of 73 full time employees during 1999. Progressive and cost-efficient
engineering define a BCEO tradition concerned with building a
safer transportation system for Butler County motorists. The
evidence is on the roads you drive. The specifics are outlined
in this Report.

During 1999, the Butler
County Engineer's Office was involved with the completion of
projects totaling $9,628,504, including:

15 bridge projects

36 culvert projects

3 intersection projects

2 roadway improvement
projects

71.2 miles of paving

3 railroad crossing
projects

611 miles of striping

8 Block Grant projects

The above list does
not include routine activities such as general design and engineering,
commercial and residential development services, tax mapping
services, and day-to-day roadway maintenance such as signing,
mowing, drainage, and snow and ice control. As you can see, the
BCEO is a multi-faceted, full-service agency covering all facets
of road and highway transportation in Butler County.

For a detailed review
of 1999 activity, please read on.

1999
SUBDIVISION DEVELOPMENT IN BUTLER COUNTY

Liberty Township led
Butler County in subdivision development during 1999 for the
second year in a row.

Unincorporated
Areas

Township

New Subdivision
Plats

New Lots

Acres Developed

New Streets

Miles of New Streets

Fairfield

11

355

167.3

25

3.4

Hanover

0

0

0

2

0.6

Lemon

1

39

14.2

3

0.3

Liberty

19

705

417.6

54

7.9

Madison

1

2

2.5

0

0

Milford

0

0

0

0

0

Morgan

1

3

8.1

1

0.04

Oxford

0

0

0

0

0

Reily

0

0

0

0

0

Ross

3

53

193.2

4

0.7

St. Clair

0

0

0

0

0

Wayne

0

0

0

0

0

West Chester

7

124

119.1

14

2.6

Total

43

1,281

922

103

15.5

Incorporated
Areas

Township

New Subdivision
Plats

New Lots

Acres Developed

New Streets

Miles of New Streets

College Corner

0

0

0

0

0

Fairfield

7

143

163.5

14

1.4

Hamilton

9

94

359.9

13

1.9

Jacksonburg

0

0

0

0

0

Middletown

2

22

8.4

2

0.2

Millville

0

0

0

0

0

Monroe

12

277

161.5

21

2.7

New Miami

0

0

0

0

0

Oxford

6

49

25.2

5

0.6

Seven Mile

0

0

0

0

0

Sharonville

0

0

0

0

0

Somerville

0

0

0

0

0

Trenton

3

87

178.5

7

0.5

Total

39

672

897

62

7.3

TAX
MAP SUMMARY

Activity

1999

1998

Sale of Plats

$16,506.30

$15,006.25

Transfers

19,212

17,216

Parcel Splits

416

384

Survey Plats Recorded

395

466

House #s Assigned

1,165

637

House #s Verified

1,122

1,236

Bonds Recorded

19

5

Annexations Recorded

3

1

Annexations Checked

3

1

1999
Projects

This section includes
a comprehensive listing of all projects that were completed during
the 1999 construction year.

BRIDGES

The Butler County Engineer's
Office performs an annual inspection of all bridges on County
and Township roads. Some bridges receive inspection two or more
times per year due to their worsened condition. The BCEO had
inspection and maintenance responsibility for 369 bridges (structures
with a clear span of ten feet or greater) at the beginning of
1999. That number remained unchanged at the end of the year.

There are 34 bridges
located on State highways within municipalities for which the
State of Ohio has inspection responsibility but the County Engineer
has maintenance responsibility.

Fourteen bridges were
posted with load limit restrictions at the end of 1999. This
is down from over 40 load-restricted bridges just five years
ago. The County Engineer's aggressive bridge program is designed
to reduce and eventually eliminate all load-rated bridges.

The BCEO's Operations
Department is responsible for the annual inspection of all culverts
located on County and Township roads --- that number totaled
1,046 at the beginning of 1999. A culvert is a conduit running
underneath a road for the purpose of transferring storm water
runoff from one side of the road to another. Culverts are technically
classified as structures with a clear span of less than ten feet
and can be made of different types of material. Culvert replacements
are, like bridges, determined by the age and condition of the
structure and are often planned in conjunction with future resurfacing
projects.

The Butler County Engineer's
Office is responsible for 270.89 miles (centerline miles) of
roadway and has a 12-15 year paving program in place. This system
enables roads to be resurfaced on a regular basis and maintained
routinely in a more cost-effective manner. Many Township roads
that are substandard in lane width and those County roads that
meet minimum standards only, where feasible, are also being widened
to bring them up to modern safety standards.

Seventy-one milesof county, township, and municipal
roads were resurfaced in 1999. This also includes berming of
all major roads paved.

BCEO paving 1. Crews get ready
to roll.

BCEO paving 2.

Paving
summary 1999

Total
miles: 71.2

Total
cost: $2,323,594

Local
Funds By Contract

Contract
1999-6 -- Resurfacing of various County and Township roads in
Hanover, Morgan, Reily, and Ross Townships

Total miles: 13

Total project
cost: $429,238

Funded by the
County:

Layhigh Road - Ohio
748 to Hamilton New London Road

Stillwell Beckett
Road - U.S. 27 to Ohio 177

Miles: 5.9

Funded by Hanover
Township:

Gene Avenue - Stahlheber
Road to cul-de-sac

Hussey Road - U.S.
27 to dead-end

Nichols Road - Lanes
Mill Road to Reily Twp line

Miles: 2.2

Funded by Morgan
Township:

Jenkins Road - South
Wynn Road to dead-end

North Wynn Road -
Layhigh Road to Ohio 129

Miles: 1.3

Funded by Reily
Township:

Elgin Road - Stephenson
Road to dead-end

Hart Road - Dunwoody
Road to CSX Railroad

North Weaver Road
- Dunwoody Road to Peoria Reily Road

Miles: 3.2

Funded by Ross
Township:

Donna Marie Drive
- Ohio 748 to dead-end

Moore's Road - Hamilton
New London Road to dead-end

Miles: 0.4

Contract
1999-7 -- Chip seal of various County and Township roads in Oxford,
Reily, Liberty, and West Chester (Union) Townships

Total miles: 14

Total project
cost: $181,079

Funded by the
County:

Crescentville Road
- Windisch Road to Cincinnati Dayton Road

Gates Road - Ohio
129 to dead end

Hamilton Mason Road
- Bypass 4 to Ohio 747

Kyles Station Road
- Ohio 747 to LeSourdsville West Chester Road

Princeton Road - Ohio
747 to Cincinnati Dayton Road

Tylersville Road -
I-75 to Butler Warren Road

Miles: 12.2

Funded by Oxford
Township:

Shera Road - Stout
Road to Taylor Road

Wallace Road - Woodruff
Road to dead end

Woodruff Road - Wallace
Road to dead end

Miles: 1.8

Contract
1999-8 -- Resurfacing of various County and Township roads in
Milford, Oxford, and Wayne Townships

Total miles: 11.8

Total project
cost: $454,933

Funded by the
County:

Jacksonburg Road -
Jacksonburg corp. to Preble County line

Waynes Trace Road
- U.S. 127 to Tolbert Road West

Miles: 3.9

Funded by Milford
Township:

Billy Circle - Ohio
177 to cul-de-sac

Depot Road - Wayne
Milford Road to dead-end

Depot Road - Huston
Road to Hamilton Eaton Road

Oxford Middletown
Road - State Road to dead-end

Oxford Trenton Road
- Huston Road to Hamilton Mason Road

Miles: 1.9

Funded by Oxford
Township:

Booth Road - Kehr
Road to CSX Railroad

Doty Road - Todd Road
to Brown Road

Wallace Road - U.S.
27 to Woodruff Road

Miles: 2.1

Funded by Wayne
Township:

Cotton Run Road -
Taylor School Road to Ohio 73

Cotton Run Road -
Oxford Middletown Road to Mill Road

Tolbert Road - Cotton
Run Road to Jacksonburg Road

Miles: 3.9

Contract
1999-11 -- Resurfacing of various County and Township roads in
Lemon, Madison, and St. Clair Townships and the City of Monroe

Contract
1999-13 -- Paving of County road in West Chester (Union) Twp
(Contract also included intersection improvement. See Intersection
Improvements Contract 1999-13.)

Total miles: 1.1

Paving portion
of contract: $98,268

Funded by the
County:

Windisch Road - Crescentville
Road to Allen Road

Miles: 1.1

GENERAL/SEASONAL
ROADWAY MAINTENANCE

The Operations Department
of the Butler County Engineer's Office is responsible for all
Force Account projects as well as the general day-to-day maintenance
and seasonal-type maintenance of bridges and roads on the County
roadway system. This includes ditching and drainage projects,
painting and striping of roads, signing, patching, pavement repair,
bridge repair, berm work, guardrail repair, mowing, brush and
weed control, and snow and ice control. Also included is emergency
maintenance such as storm damage, downed trees, high water and
flooding problems, and any debris that poses an immediate safety
hazard to the motoring public.

Total spent on
general maintenance: $1,071,844

Piping along Hamilton New
London Road at Black Road.

1999
Snow and Ice Control

A major outbreak of
winter weather opened 1999 keeping snow and ice control crews
in continuous operation for nearly two full weeks. Successive
snow, ice, and freezing rain storms plodded through Butler County
prompting issuance of a Level 2 Snow
Emergency at one point. BCEO crews kept all roads open despite
occasional salt delivery problems throughout the Midwest. Early
March brought with it the season's last significant snow storm
which dumped 6-9 inches of heavy wet snow. Most other snow events
were relatively minor, including two light snows late in the
year.

The Butler County
Engineer's Office completed construction of a larger salt
dome last year in a move to improve snow and ice control
efficiency and reduce the risk of low salt supplies. The new
storage facility holds 6,500 tons of salt on site as compared
with the former 1,800-ton facility. A new truck with a wing plow
for multi-lane plowing was also purchased. Outfitted with two
blades, the truck is capable of handling two lanes in one pass.

A new Snowfighters
page was developed here on our web site in 1999. The page
provides an in-depth overview of BCEO snow and ice control as
well as some local winter history. Motorists may also visit our
Road Conditions page for status
reports on state and local roadways during inclement weather.

Railroad crossing safety
is a major concern of the County Engineer's Office. The number
of crossing accidents continues to decline in Butler County despite
increased traffic volumes due in part to the BCEO's close work
with major railroad companies.

Federal
Funds

Contract
1999-601 -- One crossing upgrade and realignment; elimination
of two nearby crossings at Law Road and Pierson Road